Tape for tennis-courts and the like.



R. MOORE.

TAPE FOR TENNIS GOURTS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 1, 1908.

Patented Mar. 8, 1910.

ROBERT MOORE, F TUXEDO PARK, NEW YORK.l

TAPE FOR TENNIS-COURTS AND THE LIKE.

9511 Alga, Specication of Letters Patent. Iattl'ipted` M31", 8, 1910 Appueation sied nee'ember 1, 1908i serial 10.465,494.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Ronnnr Moons, a. subject of the King of Great Britam, residingv at'Tuxedo Park, @range county, New Y ork,

While I prefer to so tack 'the tape in place, it will beobvious that it may be otherwise secured. Theflead being very ductile and non-elastic, and malleable, permits the heads have invented certain new and useful Im-- lof the nails to be inserted so that they `will 6o provements in Improved Tape for Tennis, beflush with the top surface of the lead, the Courts and the Like, of which the following lead being dished below the head of the nail.

l is a clear, full, and exact description. All meeting points of strips I prefer to sol-` 'Ihis invention relates to improved tapes der at ythe joints.l` After nailing the strips in 1o for marking tennis courts and the like, but place, I go over the entire lengths of strips e5 particularly adapted for the marking of dirt tennis courts. t

The object of the invention is to provide witha mallet, hammer, or roller, to flatten the lead out even with' the ground, and to cause 1t to conform in all particulars to the a tape which will be permanent and durable, conformation of the ground as well as to not likely to trip a player, or to work itself assure one plain surfacev for the nails and 7o' out of place. strips. I then, if desired, paint the strips In carrying out my invention, I make use with any improved tennis marker, and any of a lon ,narrow, relatively thin ribbon of a approved' marking material. A court materia which is ductile, ,malleable and marked out with a strip of this kind will 2o non-elastic, whereby I am enabled to place last, I'have found, more than one season, 75 the tape in position readily, and make the provided the court is given attention during same conform to the minute inequalities' of the Winter, .so that the frost will be prethe ground, in which conformation the mavented from raising the ground adjacent, terial willremain, in Viewv of its non-elasand under the strip. To accomplish this tici'ty and weight. I prefer to use a metal, purpose, I cover the strips Iof the court, and 80 having these characteristics, and I particat least six inches on each side of the strips, ularly lind that lead well serves the purpose, at the end of the season, and before frost has although it Willbe obvious that many alloys set in, with straw bedding or other material might be produced to securekthe ductility, which will protect the ground from the .se malleability and non-elasticity which re-v frost, and I anchor such bedding or material, 85 side in lead, and which make lead a most by placing planks or boards over the same. desirable substance for my improved tapes. When the ground'is free from frost in the In a .co-pending application executed of spring, and the court has been so treated, it l even date herewith, and filed as of the same Will be in condition for another years, play,

date with ,this application, I have described with no other treatment than a court or- 90 and claimed a method for laying and predinarily must have. serving the tapes which are themselves dei In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 scribed but not claimed in this application. represents a single tennis court in diagram! In order that my invention will `be fully matic plan-marked according to this inven- 40 understood, from this description, I have'detion. Fig. 2 is' a View showing how the strips 95 scribed herein the manner in which my imof tape areirststretchcd. Fig. 3 isa sectional proved tapes are applied to a tennis court, view showing the strips secured by nails and or other such space which is to be marked, ythe mallet for hammering the strips fiat although such method is not claimed in this with the earth. Figli is a sectional view at application. f right angles to Fig. vshowing-an exagger- Each tape is first stretched along the line on 'which it is to be the kinks, and to slig tly elongate the tape. It is then tacked down at each end, preferlaced to take out all ated uneven condition ofthe ground with my improved tape 1n conformation with such uncvenness and Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 3 with the bedding for the winter in ably with a flat headed ten-penny nail. I place. 105 then place a nail in the center of the tape, In the drawings above described, Fig. l and then divide the two halves into quarters, shows in a diagrammatic` view, a` single the quarters into eighths, and so on vuntil court having the tapes 1 where they join the tape is held to the ground in a sucient each other soldered. As described elsewhere number of places to be practically seclplred..`

in the specification, the tape 1 is rst f stretchedv as shown in Fig. 2, over and above the ground, to cause it to be slightly elongated, much in the manner in which an .up- 'holsterer stretches upholsterlng webbing.

Nails, such as 2, are tacked down as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, and a mallet 3 1s then used to hammer the tape iush with the ground.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a transverse section of Fig. 3, but I have greatly exaggerated the unevenness 'of the ground, which should never take place in a court, but' which will take place to a lesser degree than in this Fig. 4, and when it does take place, the lead will conform to the unevennessv of the ground, as will be obvious.

In Fig. 5, I have shown the ground and ystrip protected by bedding 5 anchored by aI board 6 laid along the top of the webbing in the direction of the top.

I claim as my invention:

l. A tennis court, having a dirt Jfoundation, in combination with marking tapes, composed of long, narrow and relatively thin ribbons, of ductile, non-elastic and malleable metal, and Imeans for securing the tape to the court.

2. A tennis court, having a dirt surface in combination with marking tapes thereior,

composed of long, relatively thin, and narrow ribbons of ductile, non-elastic-and malleable metal, and means for securing the tape to the court. Y

3. A tennis court, having a dirt surface,

in combination with marking tapes, com- Signed atTuxcdo Park, Orange Co., New

York this 30th day of November 1908.

ROBERT MOORE. Witnesses BEATRICE MIRvIs` F. VARREN TWRIGHT. 

